Letters/press releases to the editor
English
Want to send this page or a link to a friend? Click on mail at the top of this window.
Letters are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor at Wehaitians.com. E-mail: letters@wehaitians.com  
 
Posted July 13, 2010
 
PRESS RELEASE
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
WWW.JUSTICE .GOV/USAO/MA
E-MAIL: USAMA.MEDIA@USDOJ.GOV
 
 
TWO CONVICTED IN PHYSICAL THERAPHY HEALTH CARE FRAUD
                                                     
BOSTON, Mass. - The president and an employee of a Brockton physical therapy clinic were convicted today of participating in a scheme to commit health care fraud for their roles in submitting false claims to insurance companies for non-existent physical therapy treatment.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; James C. Burrell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; Susan Dukes, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue ServE-MAILice, Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Division, and Keith Carlough, Director of Operations for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, announced today that PATRICK J. GELIN, 39, of Dorchester, and MICHELINE LAMARRE, 42, of Avon, were convicted by a jury sitting before U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., of seven counts of participating in a scheme to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud.

Evidence presented during the 14-day trial established that between 2002 and 2006 GELIN and LAMARRE concocted and executed a scheme to defraud various automobile insurance companies by submitting fraudulent bills for non-existent treatments. GELIN was the owner and president of Premium Care Physical Therapy, a Brockton clinic, and LAMARRE was a licensed physical therapist at the clinic. Trial evidence established that beginning in 2002, GELIN directed and paid LAMARRE to falsify patient charts to reflect treatments that had not been provided to patients. Pursuant to these instructions, LAMARRE added false entries to legitimate patient charts and created completely falsified charts for other patients who had never received any physical therapy treatments. Evidence at trial established that automobile insurance companies paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in connection with these false claims.

Judge O’Toole scheduled sentencing for October 14, 2010. Both GELIN and LAMARRE face up to 10 years for each count to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine per count.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, with assistance provided by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Shelbey D. Wright, of Ortiz's Health Care Fraud Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney George W. Vien of the Ortiz’s Criminal Division.

###

Wehaitians.com, the scholarly journal of democracy
More from wehaitians.com
Main / Columns / Books And Arts / Miscellaneous